He was disguised as a reporter in the audience during a Q&A with NBC Co-Chairmen Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff -- just as ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel had posed as a reporter during ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson's at-bat with reporters earlier in the tour.

Both hosts' appearances had been ginned up by their networks as a funny way to handle hot questions about their late-night plans.

NBC is replacing Leno as host of "Tonight" on June 1, 2009 -- the day Conan O'Brien takes the seat Leno's had since May 1992.

It's the culmination of a pact made with O'Brien four years ago to keep him at NBC. But Leno is still the late-night ratings leader (and O'Brien's been dinged a bit by Craig Ferguson's CBS late-night show) and NBC is trying to keep him at the network so he won't do a competing show.

But Leno recently told USA Today he was "done" with NBC, and the hot rumor these days has him moving over to ABC to host a late-night show.